Empathy For A Psycopath – Duplicity by Sibel Hodge @sibelhodge

Posted on September 25, 2019 by fundinmental

I am doing my best to finish up on overdue reviews and Duplicity by Sibel Hodge is one of those. I received the book back in October of 2016. Seems I really overdid things that year.

I will tell you that I gave Duplicity 5 Stars, so I have no excuses for not posting the review in a timely fashion. I think you may be able to relate to my problem, too many clicks and yeses. I just wanted to grab them all.

Cover: Blacksheep Design

Amazon / Audiobook / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

With a cover like Duplicity by Sibel Hodge, I just know there is some good stuff inside. I read Untouchable by Sibel Hodge and loved it, so I was eager to begin Duplicity.

Duplicity starts out ugly, making me think of Clarise in Hannibal…but severely damaged, twisted.

A terrible, abhorrent childhood with an abusive father, neglectful mother, screaming, yelling, isolation…I want to have sympathy…

I love this kind of book. I love to read about serial killers, psychopaths and sociopaths. To delve into their fictional, or true, mind fascinates me. No matter how much I understand it is not their fault they are what they are, they still make choices.

Psychopaths have no feelings, but are they all killers? They are smart, having to learn to fake all the emotions that ‘normal’ people have. Sometimes one pivotal moment can take someone down a path they never saw coming.

How do so many incompetents get high paying jobs that require knowledge and tact…which they don’t have? Does he have the skills to solve the case, to bring down a murderer? We shall see.

Twists! Turns! Surprises! I LOVE IT! OMG. Sure didn’t see that coming.

The writing and pacing, creativity, twists and turns, suspense and AHA moments kept me on the edge, glued to the pages, unable to stop reading, waiting for the next shoe to drop and who would drop with it. I don’t think there will be a happy ever after here.

As I flip through my notes, on paper and in my Kindle, I am even more upset with myself that I didn’t review this immediately. It is hard to express my emotions since it has been so long, but this is everything I love in a thrilling, chilling, creepalicious psychopath, and of course all the other characters. Sibel Hodge is definitely an author that will be at the top of my reading list.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Duplicity by Sibel Hodge.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos — 5 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

There are three sides to every story: Yours. Mine. And the truth…

Max and Alissa have a fairy tale life—newlywed, madly in love and enviously rich. Then Max is brutally stabbed to death at their home and Alissa, miraculously, escapes with her life. But why was she spared?

The hunt for the killer begins, uncovering a number of leads—was Max’s incredible wealth the motive? Had his shady business practices finally caught up with him? Or was it a stalker with a dangerous obsession?

Devoted friends rally around gentle, sweet Alissa as she is left to mourn the loss of her husband and pick up her life. But not everyone is who they seem…Deep-rooted jealousies, secrets and twisted love lie just beneath the surface, and not all fairy tales have a happy ending.

Duplicity is a suspenseful thriller from the bestselling author of Look Behind You and Where the Memories Lie.

ABOUT SIBEL HODGE

Sibel Hodge is the author of the #1 Bestsellers Look Behind You, Untouchable, and Duplicity. Her books have sold over one million copies and are international bestsellers in the UK, USA, Australia, France, Canada and Germany. She writes in an eclectic mix of genres, and is a passionate human and animal rights advocate.

Her work has been nominated and shortlisted for numerous prizes, including the Harry Bowling Prize, the Yeovil Literary Prize, the Chapter One Promotions Novel Competition, The Romance Reviews’ prize for Best Novel with Romantic Elements and Indie Book Bargains’ Best Indie Book of 2012 in two categories. She was the winner of Best Children’s Book in the 2013 eFestival of Words; nominated for the 2015 BigAl’s Books and Pals Young Adult Readers’ Choice Award; winner of the Crime, Thrillers & Mystery Book from a Series Award in the SpaSpa Book Awards 2013; winner of the Readers’ Favorite Young Adult (Coming of Age) Honorable award in 2015; a New Adult finalist in the Oklahoma Romance Writers of America’s International Digital Awards 2015, and 2017 International Thriller Writers Award finalist for Best E-book Original Novel. Her novella Trafficked: The Diary of a Sex Slave has been listed as one of the top forty books about human rights by Accredited Online Colleges.

For Sibel’s latest book releases, giveaways and gossip, sign up to her newsletter at www.sibelhodge.com/contact-followme.php.

Website / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram

MY SIBEL HODGE REVIEWS

Untouchable

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You can see my Reviews HERE.
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She Drew First Blood – Room 553 by Britney King @EJBookPromos @britneyking_

Posted on June 24, 2019 by fundinmental

I am a huge fan of Britney King’s so I an very excited to share her newest release, Room 553, a psychological thriller, another nail biter that kept me guessing til the end…and what an ending it was.

Amazon / Goodreads

Title: Room 553
Author: Britney King
Release: June 20, 2019
Genre: Psychological thriller

MY REVIEW

I read the Foreword to Room 553 by Britney King and laughed out loud thinking, right Britney. Now you know I have to continue reading! OMG!

I didn’t see the direction this was going when I began. In fact, I was a bit disappointed because Britney King writes some fabulous stories and I am usually biting my nails and racing through the pages as soon as I begin. Not so with this psychological thriller. It is more subtle, slowly sucking me in, revealing the characters in starts and stops.

The story bounces between Max’s perspective and Laurel’s journal writings.

The characters, at first I didn’t think much of any of them, but as more of their personalities, sick, perverted personalities, were revealed, I began to think, there isn’t one of them worth redemption. Maybe they will all get what’s coming to them.

Room 553 gets deeper into their twisted world becoming darker, uglier more depraved as the threads are woven together to create surprises and turns that gave me a steady supply of WTFs. That ending…worth a star in itself! Love that Britney King can blow my mind making me think of the book long after I have finished reading it.

Even though I thought Room 553 was too tame for me in the beginning, the little nuggets of goodies started popping up…then, full on, psychological and psychopathic profiles were exposed and I was in my element. But, don’t judge me on my love of reading materials. 🙂

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Room 553 by Britney King.

BLURB

“𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘯𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥. 𝘐𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱, 𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦.”

For Max and Laurel, nothing is off limits when they meet in room 553. Their illicit affair is exhilarating, passionate—and dangerous.

Driven as much by compulsion as pleasure, Max can’t stop. His mistress is Jesus on the streets, and Satan in the sack. But when things take a sharp and sudden turn for the worse, he finds himself ensnared in a trap of his own making.

Under heavy scrutiny by the police and the media, Max is hailed as a cold and evasive womanizer. He made mistakes, to be sure. But does that make him a killer?

Unnerving and addictive, Room 553 is a vivid and sensual psychological thriller that weaves a story of cruelty, reckless desire, and blind, bloody justice.

Buy Links: ✭ Amazon ✭ All Stores Universal ✭ B&N ✭ iBooks✭ Kobo

ABOUT BRITNEY KING

Britney King lives in Austin, Texas with her husband, children, two dogs, one ridiculous cat, and a partridge in a pear tree.

When she’s not wrangling the things mentioned above, she writes psychological, domestic and romantic thrillers set in suburbia.

Currently, she’s writing three series and several standalone novels.

The Bedrock Series features an unlikely heroine who should have known better. Turns out, she didn’t. Thus she finds herself tangled in a messy, dangerous, forbidden love story and face-to-face with a madman hell-bent on revenge. The series has been compared to Fatal Attraction, Single White Female, and Basic Instinct.

The Water Series follows the shady love story of an unconventional married couple—he’s an assassin—she kills for fun. It has been compared to a crazier book version of Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Also, Dexter.

Around The Bend is a heart-pounding standalone, which traces the journey of a well-to-do suburban housewife, and her life as it unravels, thanks to the secrets she keeps. If she were the only one with things she wanted to keep hidden, then maybe it wouldn’t have turned out so bad. But she wasn’t.

The With You Series at its core is a deep love story about unlikely friends who travel the world; trying to find themselves, together and apart. Packed with drama and adventure along with a heavy dose of suspense, it has been compared to The Secret Life of Walter Mitty and Love, Rosie.

The Social Affair is an intense standalone about a timeless couple who find themselves with a secret admirer they hadn’t bargained for. For fans of the anti-heroine and stories told in unorthodox ways, the novel explores what can happen when privacy is traded for convenience. It is reminiscent of films such as One Hour Photo and Play Misty For Me.

Without a doubt, connecting with readers is the best part of this gig. You can find Britney online here:

Web• http://BritneyKing.com
Instagram • https://instagram.com/britneyking_
Facebook • https://www.facebook.com/BritneyKingAuthor
Twitter• http://twitter.com/BritneyKing_
Goodreads • http://bit.ly/BritneyKingGoodreads

To get more– grab two books for free, by subscribing to her mailing list at britneyking.com or just copy and paste bit.ly/britneykingweb into your browser.

Happy reading.

MY BRITNEY KING REVIEWS

You can see my Giveaways HERE.
You can see my Reviews HERE.
If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
Look on the right sidebar and let’ talk.
Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.
I am an Amazon affiliate/product images are linked.
Thanks for visiting fundinmental!

A Map of the Dark by Karen Ellis @mulhollandbooks @KatiaLief

Posted on June 11, 2019 by fundinmental

Woo Hoo. A big shout out and thank you to NetGalley and Mulholland Books for the chance to read A Map of the Dark by Karen Ellis/Katia Lief.

Amazon / Audiobook / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

Loved it!

Flawed characters, teenagers, kidnapping, murder, serial killer, life and death, cancer.

I loved the characters, searching for answers, struggling with life.

Glad Dark is in the title, because it’s not only the villain that hides in the dark.

I am so happy this is a series because I want a whole lot more of it.

Elsa, her new partner and friend, Lex…and his brother, David. she doesn’t have much of a personal life, doesn’t strive to have one, discourages those who try to get close, until Lex who manages to earn her trust.

Deep, dark secrets.

So glad I have the next story ready and waiting…and I will begin NOW.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of A Map of the Dark by Karen Ellis.

GOODREADS BLURB

A girl, missing
A woman, searching
A killer, planning…

FBI Agent Elsa Myers finds missing people.
She knows how it feels to be lost…

Though her father lies dying in a hospital north of New York City, Elsa cannot refuse a call for help. A teenage girl has gone missing from Forest Hills, Queens, and during the critical first hours of the case, a series of false leads hides the fact that she did not go willingly.

With each passing hour, as the hunt for Ruby deepens into a search for a man who may have been killing for years, the case starts to get underneath Elsa’s skin. Everything she has buried – her fraught relationship with her sister and niece, her self-destructive past, her mother’s death – threatens to resurface, with devastating consequences.

In order to save the missing girl, she may have to lose herself…and return to the darkness she’s been hiding from for years.

ABOUT KAREN ELLIS

Karen Ellis is a pseudonym of longtime crime novelist Katia Lief. She is a member of Mystery Writers of America and International Thriller Writers. Her novel A MAP OF THE DARK will be published by Mulholland Books/Little, Brown on January 9, 2018.
Learn more at karenellisbooks.com

Stay in touch with Karen Ellis by joining her mailing list: http://eepurl.com/cS6h_r

You can see my Giveaways HERE.
You can see my Reviews HERE.
If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
Look on the right sidebar and let’s talk.
Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.
I am an Amazon affiliate/product imgaes are linked.
Thanks for visiting fundinmental!

The Girl Next Door – Her by Britney King @britneyking_

Posted on March 4, 2019 by fundinmental

Britney King writes some fantastic thrillers, with serial killers that walk a twisted line. I love her work, so I was happy to get my hands on Her!

Britney King did the book cover and I love it in all its simplicity. Sometimes less says more.

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

Britney King loves to deliver a twisted, psychological thriller that makes it almost impossible to put down. Her is another fantastic addition to my reading list and I can hardly wait for more.

The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off. Joe Klaus

With an opening like that, I grit my teeth and clench my hands tightly around my ereader, anticipating another fabulous psychological thriller from Britney King…and I was not disappointed.

When I read the Prologue, I thought, “I wonder what she is setting me up for.”

Britney King is very creative when it comes to her villains. Many times she has me rooting for them, making me love them and wanting things to work out for them.

Be careful thinking the grass is greener on the other side. It may be infested with evil.

Sadie…she is finding out that once you are in, you are never out. Now, how can I turn my back on her. I am bopping along, at a steady pace, watching her be manipulated, twisted, and perverted into keeping some nefarious secrets.

Secrets, betrayal…how can she live like that?

Britney King has a way of taking a normal neighborhood and with her casual air creates a location of danger and death. Somehow her imagination comes up with way of surprising me, jerking me out of an I know this attitude.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Her by Britney King.

GOODREADS BLURB

“After four, I quit counting. What’s the point if you know it isn’t going to stop?”

Sadie is jealous. Why wouldn’t she be? Her life is falling apart. Meanwhile, her new neighbor is everything she is not.

Ann is perfect—the kind of woman everyone loves to hate—and a best friend to die for. She hosts over-the-top dinner parties, takes parenting to an entirely different level, and makes ambition look sexy as hell.

Sadie learns quick: the best way to cure jealousy is to befriend it. She also learns there’s more to her new friend than meets the eye. She’s patient, she’s kind, and possibly a serial killer.

It isn’t until Ann’s proclivities hit a little too close to home that Sadie has to ask herself how much she’s willing to overlook in the name of getting what she wants.

Exquisitely paced, Her is an unnerving and electrifying psychological thriller about jealousy, passion, and the dangerous places desire can take you. Full of enough tension and twists to make even the most seasoned suspense reader break out in a cold sweat, it keeps you guessing until the very last page.

ABOUT BRITNEY KING

Britney King writes psychological, domestic, and romantic thrillers set in suburbia. She is currently writing three series and several standalone novels.

The Bedrock series (psychological/domestic/romantic thriller) features an unlikely heroine who should have known better. Turns out, she didn’t. Thus she finds herself tangled in a messy, dangerous, forbidden love story and face-to-face with a madman hell-bent on revenge. The series has been compared to Fatal Attraction, Single White Female, and Basic Instinct.

The Water Trilogy (psychological/domestic/romantic thriller) follows the shady love story of an unconventional married couple– he’s an assassin–she kills for fun. It has been compared to a crazier version of Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Also, the hit series Dexter.

Around The Bend, is a heart-pounding standalone (romantic suspense/domestic/psychological thriller), which traces the journey of a well-to-do suburban housewife, and her life as it unravels, thanks to the secrets she keeps. If she were the only one with things she wanted to keep hidden, then maybe it wouldn’t have turned out so bad. But she wasn’t.

The With You series (romantic suspense/contemporary romance) is a coming of age, friends to lovers, second chance (plus a few) love story about unlikely friends who travel the world; trying to find themselves, together and apart. It has been compared to Love, Rosie.

Britney lives in Austin, Texas with her husband, children, two dogs, one ridiculous cat, and a partridge in a pear tree.

She enjoys hearing from readers and would love it if you would connect with her at britneyking.com or the plethora of social media accounts she posses.

To receive an email whenever the author releases a new title, sign up for the VIP newsletter at britneyking.com/subscribe-to-new-rele… copy and paste into your browser).

To get more– grab two books for free, by subscribing to her mailing list at britneyking.com or just copy and paste bit.ly/britneykingweb into your browser.

Her characters may be hard to pin down, but she’s not. She loves talking to readers, so feel free to email her at britney@britneyking.com—she does her best to respond to everyone.

Happy reading.

Connect here: Website / Instagram / Facebook / Twitter

MY BRITNEY KING REVIEWS

You can see my Giveaways HERE.
You can see my Reviews HERE.
If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
Look on the right sidebar and let’ talk.
Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.
I am an Amazon affiliate/product images are linked.
Thanks for visiting fundinmental!

The Church is in Control- Speak of the Devil by Britney King @britneyking_ @EJBookPromos

Posted on October 11, 2018 by fundinmental

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New Release – Speak of the Devil by Britney King @britneyking_ @EJBookPromos

Posted on October 8, 2018 by fundinmental

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Giveaway – When A Stranger Comes by Karen S Bell @KarenSueBell @SDSXXTours

Posted on September 8, 2018 by fundinmental

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What Is Your Meaning of Success – Climbing Maya by Ken La Salle @KenLaSalle

Posted on April 5, 2018 by fundinmental

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Giveaway & Review – Untouchable by Sibel Hodge @SibelHodge @BPICPromos

Posted on September 4, 2016 by fundinmental

Untouchable

by Sibel Hodge

Genre: Psychological/Vigilante/Suspense Thriller

Release Date: July 18, 2016

A Conspiracy. A cover-up. And a whistle-blower who knows too much. You think you know who to trust? You’re wrong. And the truth may kill you…

~~ Inspired by real UK police investigations, this book contains scenes which some readers may find disturbing ~~

It’s Maya and Jamie’s anniversary, and she waits with excitement for him to return home for a celebratory dinner. There’s a knock at the door. It’s the police. Jamie has been found hanging in a local wood.

His death is ruled a suicide, but Maya doesn’t believe Jamie would take his own life. Something isn’t right. Someone has broken into her house. Someone is watching her. And someone has gone to great lengths to cover up what Jamie was doing before he died.

Maya’s grief turns to suspicion, and as she begins to investigate the weeks leading up to Jamie’s death, her trail leads her to a place known as “The Big House” and the horrific secrets within. Secrets people will stop at nothing to keep hidden. People linked to the heart of the Establishment who think they’re untouchable.

Now Maya has a dangerous decision to make. How far is she prepared to go to reveal the truth?

OMG. I AM BLOWN AWAY by Untouchable by Sibel Hodge. I read a lot of romantic suspense. It is one of my favorite genres, and I just want to say, “Sibel Hodge is a master storyteller that left me screaming for more!”

Untouchable contains some sensitive topics, so I would definitely recommend this to adults only and if you are squeamish, think twice…then read it. 🙂

Maya and Jamie are opposites. She is loud, messy and social. He is more of a spectator, neat and tidy and enjoys his own company, yet they complement each other well.

Untouchable is told from two perspectives – Maya in the present and Jamie in the past.

I don’t want to give away Jamie’s story and the secret he holds, but I will say, it is terrible, tragic…Makes me soooo angry and I think it will make you angry too.

Did Jamie commit suicide?

That age old question arises..WHY?

It s a painful topic, yet Maya refuses to believe he would take his own life. I often wonder, when reading novels like Untouchable, how well we really know each other. We all have our little secrets, the pieces of our soul we hide from others. I wonder what I would do in her situation and, to me, that is the sign of great writing, making me get so into the story that I place myself in the characters situation.

Would I, would you, accept what everyone was telling me, or you? Or…would I, or you, have faith in our own intuition, or own gut feeling, that they are WRONG! What strength would it take to act on it.

I can’t imagine her pain at the loss of the love of her life, how stuck she is not wanting to forget him and move on. Wearing his clothes, absorbing the smell of him…wishing…

Watch out you fuckers. I’m coming to get you.

.

We all need a purpose to go on and now she has one.

Would I want justice…YOU BET! I love books that present the What IF..Would I…to me.

This is what I have been waiting for…the suspense and anticipation are making me fidgety, my eyes twitching, as I strive to read faster and faster, yet not wanting to miss anything.

They are Untouchable, but..

I find them so disturbing, so sickening, making me want to vomit as I scream and rage. I want to jump in my Kindle and rip them apart with my bare hands. Depraved, twisted, scummier than the bottom of the pond. My outrage makes me wince and shiver as I read on.

When Mitchell, who comes to Maya’s aid in solving the mystery, talks about Iraq, even though it’s a novel, my conspiracy theories come out.

“Talking to someone would be like putting a bandaid on a shark bit. What I needed was an AK-47 or a grenade to blast the people who killed Jamie to smithereens. Could I get a script for that?”

When Mitchell talks about the media brainwashing us, I believe that too. Do you ever wonder who really controls the world? Are we being duped by our own government? How about 911, Homeland Security and terrorism…is the government, or the power people creating a distraction so we don’t see what is really going on right under our noses?

I just don’t find any way for Maya to find justice. I don’t know how she does the things she does in Untouchable, but Sibel Hodge has created a character that rocks! The woman is very strong, committed, afraid yet fearless, brave and courageous as she struggles with her loss, fear, frustration and despair.

Fear is a reaction. Courage is a decision.

.

I was crunched forward, my foot tap, tap, tapping, racing through the pages, fighting the pain in my neck, hands, and wrists, from holding, clutching my Kindle…unable to stop. My head aches, my eyes burn and still I can’t stop. I have not read her bestseller, Look Behind You, but after reading Untouchable it is high on my wish list. Sibel Hodge has now become a MUST READ author for me.

Untouchable by Sibel Hodge did not go the way I thought. It seemed predictable, but twisted and turned to the very end. Ooooh, THE ENDING, I never saw it coming and I sat with my mouth hanging open and I had to laugh at my astonishment. AWESOME, Sibel!

To wrap it up, Untouchable by Sibel Hodge is a mind blowing, off the charts, out of the ballpark, hellacious rollercoaster ride that brought all my emotions to the surface, roiling and boiling.

I received a copy of Untouchable from Sibel Hodge in return for an honest review.

5+++++ Stars

Sibel Hodge’s No. 1 Bestseller Look Behind You has now sold over ¼ million copies. Her books are International Bestsellers in UK, USA, Australia, France, and Germany. She writes an eclectic mix of genres, and she’s a passionate human and animal rights advocate.

Her work has been nominated and shortlisted for numerous prizes, including the Harry Bowling Prize, the Yeovil Literary Prize, the Chapter One Promotions Novel Competition, The Romance Reviews’ prize for Best Novel with Romantic Elements, and Indie Book Bargains’ Best Indie Books of 2012. She was the Winner of Best Children’s Book by eFestival of Words 2013, Nominated for the 2015 BigAl’s Books and Pals Young Adult Readers’ Choice Award, Winner of Crime, Thrillers & Mystery | Book from a Series in the SpaSpa Book Awards 2013, Readers’ Favourite Young Adult – Coming of Age Honourable Award Winner 2015, and New Adult Finalist in the Oklahoma Romance Writers of America’s International Digital Awards 2015. Her novella Trafficked: The Diary of a Sex Slave has been listed as one of the top 40 books about human rights by Accredited Online Colleges.